'They know exactly what you're going through' | Students step up halt violence in Charlotte-area schools
Student organizations, police departments, and school districts are working om ways to stem the rise of violence and threats in schools across the Charlotte region.
Following another week of lockdowns and social media threats at schools throughout the Charlotte region, school administrators, police chiefs, parents and students are grappling with how to stop increased violence.
As school districts, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Gaston County Schools, discuss potential policy changes, WCNC Charlotte spoke to people who are seeking solutions now to make students safer in schools.
"It starts with you. It starts with youth."
West Charlotte High School, where CMS Police found two guns in the student parking lot Thursday morning, is the birthplace of what's now known as the "SAVE Promise Club."
"SAVE" stands for "Students Against Violence Everywhere," and it's since merged with Sandy Hook Promise, a national nonprofit formed following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.
The original SAVE Club started in 1989 after West Charlotte High School football player Alex Orange was shot and killed while trying to stop a fight.
According to SAVE Promise Club's senior director, Carleen Wray, Orange was one of nearly a dozen students in the late-1980's who were killed in different shootings.
Wray first met with students of the original SAVE Club in 1993 as a member of the Governor’s Crime Commission.
"They were so impressive," Wray recalled. "The students knew that in order to make a difference that they had to get their friends to start looking out for each other."
SAVE Promise Club now has more than 3,500 clubs spread across 49 states.
Hickory Ridge High sophomore Jordyne Lewis is a member of SAVE Promise Club's national youth advisory board.
She was attracted to the organization because she spent years being constantly drilled in class on lockdowns, evacuations and active shooter plans.
"They're trying to help prevent gun violence. They're trying to make schools a safer place," Lewis said. "I was like, I needed to join this club because it's been something that's been sticking with me."
One of Lewis' favorite programs is "Start with Hello," where she and her fellow members introduce themselves to students who may be walking the halls or eating lunch by themselves.
"The aim of the program is just to make people feel more included at school because that's really what school should be," Lewis said.
Wray said another pillar of their organization is "Say Something," which explains the difference between tattling on a classmate versus telling on someone in order to keep fellow students safe.
She described one example that, she said, occurred in a North Carolina school.
"One example is a young man who saw another young man pull a gun out of a locker, and this young man walked over to him," Wray said. "[He] said, 'There's no place for that gun here. Whatever's going on with your life is going to get better.'"
She said the student with the gun got rid of it.
"When simply a classmate, someone your own age, speaks to you about it, it's just way more personal," Lewis said. "They know exactly what you’re going through. They're going through the exact same thing you are."
$1,000 for Information Crime Stoppers of Gaston County
The Gaston County Police Department, which runs the school system’s school resource officer (SRO) program, said in the last week, they experienced a spike in violent threats against schools that were fueled by social media and person-to-person rumors.
Two of those incidents occurred at Ashbrook High School and Stuart Cramer High School.
According to Assistant Chief Myron Shelor, in 2019, the last full year when all high school students were together in class, the department's SROs responded to 85 incidents.
During the first three-and-a-half months of this school year, SROs responded to 207 incidents.
"It's just been a lot busier, a lot more activity, a lot more unrest than normal," Asst. Chief Shelor said. "I'm sure the pandemic and all the things around that play into it."
After talking with school leaders, Crime Stoppers of Gaston County is offering anyone, including students, as much as $1,000 for information leading to the identity and arrest of anyone who starts violent threats on social media.
"The ultimate goal is to keep the kids and the staff and everyone at the school safe and have a safe environment they can go and learn in," Asst. Chief Shelor said. "Whatever tools we can use to reach that, we'll certainly look at."
Contact Brandon Golder at bgoldner@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.